Professor Ignacio Melero

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Ignacio Melero,Universidad de Navarra

Ignacio Melero headshot

Professor Melero is Professor of Immunology Co-head Immunology and Immunotherapy, Universidad de Navarra and Senior Oncology Consultatnt, Clínica Universidad de Navarra,

Dr Melero started out in biomedical research as a resident of immunology at the prestigious department of this specialty in Hospital Universitario de la Princesa (Madrid). He completed his doctoral thesis with Professor Miguel López-Botet identifying and functionally studying natural killer cell receptors. His work obtained the Outstanding Doctorate Award.

In 1994 he joined Bristol Myers Squibb Company as a researcher in cancer immunotherapy in his institute in Seattle (WA). The result of his three years of work in this environment are pioneering publications in the knowledge of costimulation of antitumor immune responses and the use of immunostimulatory monoclonal antibodies. During this period, he worked with Professor Lieping Chen in the division led by Professor Karl E. Hellström.

In 1998 he returned to Spain in the campus of CIMA and Clínica Universidad de Navarra. In these centers he has led a multidisciplinary team working in cancer immunotherapy with cell therapy techniques, gene therapy and monoclonal antibodies. Dr Melero serves as full professor of Immunology at the University of Navarra, has directed 16 PhD thesis (eight of them obtained the Outstanding Doctorate Award and one of them the Enrique Fuertes Quintana Award) and has been principal researcher in over 39 clinical trials of immunotherapy (both sponsored by industry and by the center itself).